Anya Hindmarch

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Anya Hindmarch
Born 1968 (age 39–40)
Essex
Nationality England
Labels Anya Hindmarch
Awards first recipient of Brand of the Year at the British Fashion Awards[1]

Anya Hindmarch (born 1968 in Essex), is an English fashion accessories designer.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Born in Essex to a self-made man, she was educated at a Roman Catholic convent school.[2][3] Aged 16 Hindmarch was given an old Gucci handbag by her mother. At that point planning to attend University, but the bag made her feel so good, instead of going to University aged 18 she went to Florence to study Italian.[4]

Noticing that a drawstring leather duffel bag was all the rage among fashionable women, Hindmarch borrowed $1,000 to import some bags to England. After sending it to fashion magazine Harpers and Queen from an introduction made by a friend, as a result of their article she sold 500.[1][4]

[edit] Business

After learning to produce her own bags in Hackney, inspired by Margaret Thatcher Hindmarch opened a small shop in Walton Street, London aged 19,[3] with her early products based heavily on Italian design principles. All her products she says are based on the quality of workmanship, and represent a design philosophy which is: British, humorous and bespoke.[1] Her designs are also influenced by her love of classical architecture, which she progresses as a hobby with into architectural reclamation.[2]

The Hindmarch company, now based in Battersea with her husband as Finance Director,[2] runs to some 60 branded shops. Her products are also stocked in major retail chains including: Corso Como in Milan; Colette in Paris; isetan in Tokyo, Japan; and Saks and Scoop in the United States. Her designs are popular with both film stars and celebrities, including: Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Madonna, Claudia Schiffer, Margaret Thatcher and Reese Witherspoon.

Hindmarch is a design consultant to British Airways, and has designed their highly covetable First Class amenity kits to much acclaim for 7 years.

[edit] The Collection

Hindmarch designs annually for three collections, which span her core handbags plus shoes, luggage, small leather goods, a beach collection, a small range of ready to wear - and an iPod carrier.[5] The collections are regularly featured in leading fashion magazines including Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. Her bags and collections have become so fashionable, they have been the target of two raids on her London shops, one of which resulted in thieves grabbing £20,000 worth of merchandise.[6]

[edit] I’m Not A Plastic Bag

In 2007 Hindmarch, in collaboration with the global social change movement We Are What We Do,[7] designed the global sell out Tote bag I’m Not A Plastic Bag, using her influence in a positive way to make it fashionable not to use plastic bags.[8] The limited edition canvas totes sold for £5, launching in four limited edition colours around the world, and were selected by Vanity Fair to be included in their "Oscars" goodie bags.[9] 100,000 customers registered online to try to buy I’m Not A Plastic Bag, while 30 people in Beijing, China were treated in hospital after being caught in what was described as a scrum.

[edit] Awards

As well as celebrity support, Hindmarch has also gained critic and compatriot support. In both 2006 and 2007 Hindmarch won Designer of the Year by Glamour magazine, and became the first winner of the Designer brand of the Year at the 2007 British Fashion Awards.[1]

[edit] Personal life

Hindmarch met her widower husband James Seymour after his first wife died. She became step mother to his three children from that marriage (Hugo, Octavia and Bert); and the couple have two children of their own: Felix, and Otto.[10] They live in Belgravia, with her favourite food shop Daylesford Organic, founded by the wife of JCB tycoon Sir Anthony Bamford, located just around the corner in Chelsea.[11]

A self confessed hopeless chef who gets mouth ulcers from the stress of cooking, she lists her favourite discovery in Vanity Fair as the drawing schools at the Royal Academy.[12] Her favourite possessions are her 1960's Rolex watch, and her pink BlackBerry; while her collections include sea shells and butterflies.[2]

Her friends include Zac Goldsmith and Conservative Party leader David Cameron, and as a committed Tory herself she was on the organising committee for the 2008 fund raising Black and White Ball.[3][13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d My life in fashion: Anya Hindmarch. The Times (February 20, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  2. ^ a b c d The world of Anya Hindmarch. The Telegraph (5th January, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  3. ^ a b c Anya Hindmarch: Dave's got a brand new bag lady. The Independent (3 February 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  4. ^ a b Waite, Teresa L. (March 1, 1992). Style Makers; Anya Hindmarch, Handbag Designer. New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  5. ^ Any Hindmarch iPod carrier. Apple. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  6. ^ The 'It bag gang' strikes again. Daily Mail (19th March 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  7. ^ Anya Hindmarch designs a £5 reusable shopping bag. We Are What We Do (2nd February, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  8. ^ BBC news
  9. ^ I'm Not an Ethical Plastic Bag. treehugger.com (28 April, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  10. ^ A Life in the Day: Anya Hindmarch. The Times (January 13, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  11. ^ Anya Hindmarch: 'Ethical living has never seemed so cool'. The Guardian (January 27, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  12. ^ My Stuff. Vanity Fair (October 2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  13. ^ Anya Hindmarch at Conservative Party Black & White Ball - February 6, 2008 - Arrivals. topnews.in (February 6, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.

[edit] External links